


Dance With Me

by Meribell64



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, F!Byleth, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I don't know how to write in character tbh, Not Beta Read, One Shot, Pining, Unoriginal, Werewolf - freeform, am sorry for any ooc shit, i dont know how to tag tbh, i use my character's name lmao, indulgence, no beta we die like Glenn, rhea ur kind of an ass let's be real, yeah i like supernatural features fight me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 06:07:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23390026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meribell64/pseuds/Meribell64
Summary: Sarina shares many dances with a certain schemer. Ones that are intimate, and others bittersweet.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	Dance With Me

**Author's Note:**

> Self-indulgence rules. I just wanted to get this writing scene out of my system. If you like it, I'm glad. If not, oh okay. Move on pls. Also i am sorry for any poor grammar mistakes. I am also kind of bad at writing scenes.

The music filled the reception hall, students beginning to flock onto the dance floor into pairs. Sarina watched everyone, or rather supervised, becoming lost in the mindless chatter and whispers that occurred around her. Her eyes wandered to the floor, the two house leaders of the Black Eagle and Blue Lions initiating the start of it. Tradition states the three house leaders of the Officers’ Academy begins and lead the dance of the ball, however, she noticed there were one short house member. She blinked once and began to scan the crowd. When she turned her head to the right, her eyes would meet a pair of brilliant verdant green ones. When she blinked, she saw the missing house leader in front of her, taking her hand into his, tugging her towards the dance floor. Oh no. No no no no no.

“Cl-Claude,” she says in a hushed voice. She feels the skirts of her dress dragging along the floor with the soft clicks of her kitten heels deafened by the music.

“Relax, Teach, you should have fun too,” he winks at her as he guides one hand to his shoulder and holds the other gently in his hand, outstretching to the side.

Sarina feels a slight warmth to her cheeks. “I don’t know how to dance,” she murmurs to him, keeping her eyes to their feet, watching him take the first step.

“Guess that makes two of us.” She looked at him in disbelief but was forced to follow his lead as the music continued to play in the background.

She mocked his voice in her head as she kept a constant watch on their feet. When he took a step back, she took a step forward, moving her body in tune with his. She was unaware of the smile he was giving her as he watched her. “You sure you haven’t danced before? Looks like you’re getting the hang of it,” he teased.

Sarina looked up, her lower lip jutting out slightly as she gave him a pointed look. She could see his eyebrows shooting up towards his hairline. She blinked at that and tilted her head. “What’s that look?”

“Did you just pout?” he asked, trying to stifle back a snicker.

She feels her cheeks going warm again. “Did I?” she could only ask back, unaware what kind of expressions she was making. He only ever commented how stony-faced she looked.

A chuckle left his lips. “Sorry, I just think you look cute.”

Her cheeks got warmer. Was she coming down with something? “You’re starting to sound like Sylvain,” she comments, taking a chance to tease him back.

He gives a mock expression of hurt. “Oh come on Teach, I got more tact than that,” he complained.

Unexpectedly, the corner of her lips quirked up and she let out a soft giggle.

His eyes widened when he heard the soft giggle, his expression becoming soft. “I guess being in the Black Eagles are doing wonders for you. You’ve become rather expression these days huh?”

Sarina blinked at his words and thought about it for a moment. Tension leaves her arms and she found her fingers gently squeezing his hand. “That’s not true,” she says to him softly. Their gazes become locked together, the music drowning out in their ears as they focused on one another, their bodies seemingly moving onto their own accord. “You’re part of the reason too.”

Claude’s expression becomes unreadable and she would give anything to know what he was thinking. A comfortable silence hangs between them as he continues to lead their small dance. Suddenly, he jolts up startled, stopping suddenly when someone clears their throat and taps his shoulder. The two stopped abruptly and beside them was Dimitri, giving his princely smile. “May I steal the professor for this next dance?” he asks as he gives a bow to Sarina.

Sarina blinked. Before she could say anything, she feels Claude’s grasp on her hand pull away, taking his warmth with him. He only smiles, albeit it seemed strained as he gives a half bow. “Of course,” he says simply. “I shouldn’t be rude and keep her to myself now,” he winks towards her. He walks away soon after as she was passed to Dimitri.

She had to crane her neck back to look up at the prince and gives him a polite bow. “I’m not good at dancing,” she warned as she took the same position. She feels the coolness of his hand enveloping hers, making her long for the warmth that she had before. She looked into his eyes and found herself wanting that blue color to be green.

* * *

She steps out of the reception hall, her feet aching in her heels. She lets out a deep breath. “Oh, tired of dancing already?” Sothis teases.

Sarina slumps her shoulders. “Yeah…”

“It must be hard to being the favorite professor,” she comments.

“It is difficult,” Sarina murmurs as she steps further away from the noise of the reception hall.

“Oh so you do admit you are the favorite? That shouldn’t surprise me.”

Sarina couldn’t help but roll her eyes playfully. “When you have students coming to you left to right, it’s hard not to see the bias,” she states.

“So where will you escape to?”

Sarina feels the cool breeze hit against her skin as she brush a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. She thinks for a place that she could go to and looks up to the starry night sky. She softens at the sight of the full moon, and wondered if there was a place higher that she could go to see it up close. The Goddess Tower.

“Ah I see. Then off we go, lest someone sweep you back to the dance floor,” Sothis encouraged.

A slight cringe goes through her body and she finds her feet quickly picking up to go to the Goddess Tower. When she approaches, she sees no one around yet. She recalled of a legend the students talked about constantly in the month, so she expected it to be crowded. Perhaps she came early? She looks towards the entrance of the tower to see it slightly ajar. Curiously, she approached and pulls the door open. She wonders if it is usually open, but considering Seteth is a stickler about the sanctity of the tower back in the Rite of Rebirth, she doubted it was supposed to be opened. Nonetheless, she slips inside, carefully closing the door behind her. She was quickly met with a spiral staircase.

“Well what are you waiting for? Go!” Sothis yells at her.

Sarina refrains from letting out a huff but proceeds to go up the stairs. Inside felt much taller than it looked outside. She begins to feel tired until she sees the last few steps and the bright light seeping out from the top floor. There must be an open window at top, or perhaps a balcony. If she recalled, she could see an open ledge if you look up from the outside. She takes the last step, stepping into the light and nearly basks in it, the feeling of the moon coursing through her veins. The wolf inside her howls in delight. She glances around briefly before a figure catches her eye. She only needs to see the glint of yellow that accented the suit to tell her who it was. “Claude,” she calls out.

Turning away from the balcony, Claude looks to see who entered. He gives a grin to her as he gives two finger wave. “Oh hey Teach. Surprise to see her up here—wait let me guess, you couldn’t bear the ball anymore and you just had to escape?”

Sarina lets out a breath of a chuckle as she quietly approaches him. “I wouldn’t say that…”

“Heh, don’t worry, I get it. I’m the same way,” he says to her before turning back to the stars above.

She raises an eyebrow to the statement, taking a place next to him. “Could’ve fooled me,” she says, a playful smile on her lips as she watches his profile.

A chuckle leaves his lips. “See right through me, do ya? I really do mean it though. Parties aren’t for me,” he says, his posture slackening a bit as he leans over the balcony rail, arms crossed beneath him as he shifts his weight forward and keeping his eyes to the stars and the full moon. “Music and fun are well and good, but those dances the nobles do are… something else. I was never really taught that sort of thing. My upbringing…. Was lacking in certain ways.”

This piqued Sarina’s curiosity. She always knew he wasn’t like any other nobles, but something about that statement felt off. “Even though you’re the heir to the alliance?” she asked him.

“Even so. I may have secured a fancy new title, but who I am on the inside… well that alone can’t change that,” he explains.

Her expression softens as she soon follows his gaze to the sky, letting the light of the moon wash over her. She soaks it up in a quiet delight manner as she stands next to Claude, only a few inches separating them. “Hm… I know what you mean,” she says softly.

A silence falls between them as they watched the stars quietly. “You know,” he says suddenly in a soft voice. “I always like watching the stars as a kid. It makes me think how even though my dreams are big, they’re still so small compared to them. It’s comforting.”

She nods in agreement, quietly surprised at his openness, but she relishes it. Although she was the professor for the Black Eagles, she still wanted to be close to the other house leaders and guide them in their journey. In the time she spent with Claude, she told herself she would try to get a smile that would reach his eyes before he graduated. Eventually, this cumulated into a strange… friendship. Yeah, friendship. Yet, she finds the word inadequate for some reason. “I know what you mean,” she replies. “It’s… a constant.”

In the corner of her eyes, she sees the dip of his head. “Hey Teach… Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” she says as she glanced to him curiously.

“Why did you choose the Black Eagles?”

That was a question she didn’t expect. She brings her hands up to rest on the rail, fiddling with her fingers. She pressed her lips together as she thought about her answer.

Claude chuckles and gives her a nonchalant smile. “I’m kidding Teach, you don’t have to answer that. I know, I know, we can be a bit rowdy sometimes so I can see why,” he says to her and turns around, leaning against the railing with his elbows draped over the top, keeping his eyes upwards.

“I did think about it.”

He blinks, his attention turning back to her. “What?”

She shifts her weight. “The Black Eagles weren’t my first choice,” she says in a quiet voice, wondering if he could hear her.

“Then why—”

She continues, “Because I wanted to get to know you.” She feels a warmth in her cheeks now.

A look of confusion spreads on Claude’s face. “If you wanted to get to know me, wouldn’t it be easier to choose the Golden Deer then?”

A sigh left Sarina’s lips, finding talking so difficult suddenly, especially with Claude. “Yeah, well… my thought process was that I didn’t expect the precariousness of the missions Rhea was sending my class on.” She crosses her arms, fingers gently rubbing over the skin of her exposed skin. She glances at Claude’s face to see a look of amusement and she wasn’t quite sure at what. “I… I thought I could get to know you without the pretense of being your professor of your house… Guess that backfired, huh?” She looks up to him with a shy smile, a hint of embarrassment strewn across her face.

A burst of laughter came from Claude as he ran a hand through his hair, something she learned as a nervous habit. “Man, Teach, you really are something, you know that?”

She gives a small laugh, fingers ghosting over her lips. “Listen, I’m not as smart as you okay?” she says to him. She gently nudges him before looking back to the sky. “Though… I do wonder…”

Silence fills the between them again. She feels his radiating warmth next to her, taking his place next to her, but this time feeling the touch of his shoulder against hers. She couldn’t help but lean into that warmth and enclosing what little space was left between them. They stayed like that for goddess knows how long.

“Well, I guess you should be getting back, I’m sure everyone is looking for you,” he says to her.

She couldn’t help but quietly sighed, not looking back to dancing and stepping over students’ feet again. He chuckled at her reaction. When she turned to face him, her eyes meet with his. Like before, she felt drawn to him and couldn’t explain why. She felt her throat dry and any form of thoughts leaving her.

She could see his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. “Dance with me?” he asks suddenly.

Her lips parted open to speak, but no words would form. Instead, she offers her hand to him. He takes it quietly with his own, bringing it to his lips before stretching it out to the side while her other hand is placed on his shoulder. She feels his other hand snaking around her waist, placing it at her hip. Unlike the ceremonial waltz performed, they simply sway together as the two hone their ears to the music, trying to stay in rhythm. They kept their gazes locked with one another, as if memorizing their features. Sarina gently slips her hand from his grasp and he stiffens, thinking she wanted to leave. Instead, she slides her arms up around his neck, her eyes staying on his. Claude slid his hands around her waist now, continuing to sway with her.

As the music kept playing, she leaned closer to his body, resting her head onto his shoulder. It was close… intimate. They were alike, keeping their walls up around others, only to have it break down in the other’s presence. They stayed like that until the end of the song. Even when it ended, they stayed in the other’s embrace.

* * *

“Are you waiting for time to heal your wounds? Or have you curled up in a corner and lost the will to carry on?” Edelgard asked in her now late father’s quarters, staring hard at her back.

She bristled at her words, speechless at what she said.

“Professor, you cannot allow yourself to wallow in despair like this. Only you can understand your own sadness and it is what you do that will matter,” she continued.

She feels anger bubbling inside her at the words being spoken to her.

“Your father would—”

“Edelgard,” she says sharply, not turning to look at her. “Leave.”

She couldn’t see the stunned expression on her student’s face. “Professor, I—”

“I won’t tell you again.” Silence filled the room between them before the sounds of footsteps could be heard towards the door and the soft click of it closing. After a few seconds, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She feels tears pricking the corner of her eyes and she desperately tried to hold them back while she calmed herself. She hears the door opening and footsteps. She nearly growled at the intrusion as she begins to raise her voice. “Edelgard, I swear, I will not say this again—” she turns, prepared to lash out. She stops suddenly, her eyes widening as she sees Claude at the doorway instead. “Claude…” her shoulders relax, embarrassed that he had to see her like this. She wipes her eyes with the sleeve of her blouse before crossing her arms, holding onto her elbows with her hands. “I’m sorry, did you need something from me?”

“A-ahh, I just thought I could give you a little something,” he says. Behind his back, was a small basket, the smell of pastries wafting from underneath a napkin.

Her unbeating heart warms at the sight.

“Just thought you could use a little pick me up. I can leave it here and—”

“Stay.”

He looks up to her, surprised as she glances away.

“S… stay.” She says again.

“… Alright,” he says and crosses the floor to the table in the room. He places the basket down and before he fully straightens up, he sees Sarina in front of him and gently taking his hands into hers. When he looks down at her, it occurs to him how small she looks, her shoulders slumped and eyes towards the ground.

“Dance with me…?” he hears her voice whisper.

His eyebrows furrow together at the sudden request. If it any other situation, he would have thought it strange, but when he could feel her hands tightening over his, trembling almost, he didn’t say anything. He simply guides her into position. Wordlessly, Sarina wraps her arms around his neck and his own goes around her waist. They simply sway together in the silence of the room.

Sarina lays her head on his shoulder, hearing the sound of his heartbeat. It was beating fast and yet it was soothing. Until she was reminded of her father’s heart. No longer would she be able to rest her ear against his chest to hear its lullaby. She remembered how it slowed. Slowed. Slowed. Until it stopped. Something inside her broke as the swaying came to a stop, her face buried into his shoulder as she sobbed quietly. She feels his fingers tangle themselves into her hair, gently holding her head close while an arm stays wrapped around her waist.

The room becomes silent save for the sounds of her sobs.

* * *

She sits at the dock of the pond, her legs swaying back and forth underneath her as she stares at her reflection in the water. Mint green hair with eyes to match. She hated it. It makes her think of Rhea, and she felt a bit disgusted when she thinks about their now similarities. She sighed softly as she gently runs her fingers through it, feeling her hairclip slipping out of place as she did so. She didn’t stir as she hears footsteps approach and the smell of pine and spaces wafting through the air. “Claude,” she greets without looking back.

Wordlessly, she feels him take a seat beside her on the docks. “Hey, Teach,” he says.

Silence falls between them, both unsure what to say to each other.

“So I hear that you’re going to the Holy Tomb with the class,” Claude says as he leans back, looking up to the night sky.

“Yeah…” she responds as she keeps her gaze at the reflection, her own now met by the house leader next to her. “She says I’m supposed to get a divine revelation.” Even though Sothis was gone.

“Is that so?” he says.

She could only nod.

Silence fills the air again.

“Claude—”

“Teach—”

The two looked at each other at the same time. Soon enough, both let out a small laugh. “You first,” she insisted.

He presses his lips together, as if unsure what to say now. “What do you think will happen?”

She gives him a shrug as she sighs, feeling the strands of her hair falling out of place now from the placement of her hairclip. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “There’s…” she furrowed her eyebrows together. “There’s a lot that has happened and Rhea isn’t giving me the answers I want.”

“It’s always secrets with this place, huh,” Claude points out, resisting the urge to let out a sigh as he runs his fingers through his hair.

“You’re telling me,” she says and then looks at him. “Like a certain schemer.”

A grin crosses his face as he turns his head to her. “Who? Me? I would never…”

She gives him a pointed look.

“Okay, well maybe a scheme here and there… but perfectly harmless,” he says.

She rolls her eyes playfully. “Of course, so that wasn’t you when Lorenz had a terrible stomach bug?” she asked, a teasing lilt to her voice.

“Oh he had one? Didn’t notice,” Claude nonchalantly waves it off. A giggle bubbles up from Sarina’s chest as she tries to hide it behind her fingers. He smiles softly at her when she does. “Hey, turn around a bit.”

She raises an eyebrow to his request, a bit skeptical. “Claude, if this is another prank…”

He whines playfully. “I would never,” he claimed, crossing an x over his heart to indicate a promise. “Please? I promise it’s nothing bad.”

She looks at him skeptically still before obliging, turning her body so her back was to him. She stays perfectly still and nearly jolts when she feels his fingers run through the strands of her hair. She feels the hairclip being removed. If it was any other person, she would have thrown them to the pond. She stays in place though, feeling him gather some of her hair and separating them—a braid? He uses his fingers in place of a comb and hears the quiet soft of a clip, feeling the jaws of the hairclip clamping together and keeping her hair up.

“There we go,” she hears him say as he hums in approval.

When he was done, she turns around to him and carefully lifts her hand up to feel her hair. She feels the braid secured in place with her hairclip. It was her usual hairstyle, except styled with the braid. She feels her cheeks grow warm as she tucks a loose strand behind her ear. “Thank you…” she says softly.

“Any time,” he says to her. He looks up, seeing the cusp of the evening beginning to fall. “I suppose we should go ahead before Seteth begins his ritual of lecturing the ‘inappropriateness’ of a student and a professor mingling.” He playfully waggles his eyebrows at her before offering his hand to her.

She smiles at his silliness and takes his hand, her fingers grasping around them as he helps pull her up onto her feet. “Are you going to escort me back?” she asks.

“If that’s what the Teach wants,” he says as he brings her hand to his lips.

She smiles and nods. As she watches him, she gets that same feeling she felt when they danced at the Goddess Tower. She still doesn’t know what to describe it as.

* * *

“What is the meaning of this!?” Rhea questioned, snarling her voice at Sarina who stands defensive in front of Edelgard.

“Professor…” Edelgard stared at her in astonishment and gratefulness.

“She’s just a girl, Rhea, I’m not going to kill her,” Sarina says to her firmly.

“Insolence!” the archbishop nearly screams before taking a deep breath, closing her eyes as she raises her head up. “So, this is the choice you have made. You are just another failure. Your presence soils this Holy Tomb, and disgraces my brethren. I will not allow one who would lend our enemies strength... to wield the power of the goddess Sothis. I have passed judgement. And now, I shall now rip your chest open... and TAKE BACK YOUR HEART MYSELF!

Her eyes widened in shock as the archbishop is enveloped in a flash of bright green light and replacing her was a enormous white dragon. “What the hell…”

Hubert could only chuckle in amusement at the display before him. “That must be the Immaculate One then…” he states.

Sarina swallowed dryly as she tried to speak to Rhea. “Rhea! Listen to me!” she didn’t want to defend Edelgard and her crimes, she just didn’t want to kill her.

The dragon only roared at her, ready to attack.

“Professor, we must leave at once!” Edelgard yells to her.

Sarina was forced to treat with the newly crown emperor and her vassal, the rest of her students following their lead. She found herself in a provisional camp with the Black Eagles. She didn’t want to be in this position, but she didn’t have a choice. She was now considered a traitor to the Church and Edelgard had declared war against them. While she wish she wasn’t in this position, she didn’t regret her choice. Before the eve of their battle, she looked towards the monastery in the distance, her thoughts going to one person… Claude.

Before she knew it, she found herself thrown in the fires of the battlefield, right before Garreg Mach Monastery. She gripped Edelgard’s arm tightly as she spoke, “Edelgard, promise me no students will be harmed.”

“Professor…”

“No students will be harmed.”

Edelgard had a tight lip before nodded. “I promise you professor. No one will be harmed, but I cannot guarantee the lives of the knights if you’re going to vouch for them.”

Sarina sighed. “They chose to fight for Rhea,” she could only say before releasing Edelgard and moving forward. The fight raged on and she tried to spare as many as she could. When she was faced with Seteth and Flayn, she urged them to run. Run as far as they can from here. She didn’t look back to see if they would and only prayed for Sothis, her dear friend, to grant them safety. She didn’t hesitate to strike down the Knights of Seiros, however, for the first time… she felt pain as she was forced to end their life for her own.

In the midst of the battle, her mint green eyes caught sight of verdant green ones. Both were worn and torn from their respective battles on the opposite side. He gave her a pained look and she returned it. As she stepped forward, she watched as an Imperial soldier try to cut them down. He was quick though, as she had expected, as he brought his sword and parry the lance. He cut them down quickly and Sarina closed the distance between them, her sword at her side. “Claude,” she called for him.

“Teach… why?” he asked her.

She opened her mouth, desperate to explain everything to him. This wasn’t how she wanted things to happen. She gripped the handle of the Sword of the Creator tightly. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to him.

He switched from his sword to his bow, nocking an arrow and aiming it at her. She slowly raised her sword to him. Their eyes locked with one another, however, not with one of longing, but one of hurt.

“Dance with me,” he says to her as he releases the arrow.

* * *

She found herself face to face to Rhea who took up her form once more. The next thing she knew was the flames engulfing her and everything went black. Five years would pass when she woke up. When she goes to the Goddess Tower, she becomes reunited with Edelgard and the Black Eagles, who has overtaken the monastery. She didn’t want to be here.

* * *

“Hilda…” Sarina calls to her as she took heavy breaths, her body aching from the prolonged battle in Derdriu.

“Hey Professor,” Hilda says with a strained smile, gripping her axe tightly in her hands, worn in her own battles against the Imperial soldiers. “Sorry, but I can’t hold back. I can’t let down dear old Claude after all,” she says.

When Sarina hears his name, she falters slightly. He was at the port and Edelgard is already making headway over there. “Come at me then,” she challenged. And so they clash blades with one another, Hilda’s strength having only grown in the past five years, enough that could possibly surpass her own. However, what she didn’t expect was Sarina grabbing her heroes’ relic raw blade with her bare hand, unflinching at the blood that seeped and pushing her back. She kicks her with her knee, causing the girl to stumble back. Not allowing her to recover, she unsheathes her knife and digs it in her stomach. Hilda gasps out, a wordless scream leaving her throat. Sarina pulls her into a close embrace, her lips hovering next to her ear. “Hold your breath.”

She removes her blade, carefully laying Hilda down on the ground with care. When soldiers come to inspect her body, she begins to leave the scene, going off to a sprint. She only hopes Hilda does what she says. She needed to get to Claude before it’s too late, before Edelgard—

“Do you yield?” Edelgard asks her as she keeps Amyr’s blade at his neck.

Claude gives her a glare, his hand still gripped over Failnaught. “I thought you knew me better than that,” he says to her, giving her his signature easy going smile.

“Hmph… So be it.” As she was about to raise her blade, she hears Sarina’s voice cutting through the air.

“Edelgard! Enough!” Sarina pants heavily as she reaches in time.

Claude’s eyes widened at the sight of her. “Teach?” he says, unable to believe in what he was seeing.

Her shoulders rose with each heavy breath she took, slowly making her way to the two. “Claude…” she says his name, a hint of desperation showing through.

“Heh… Not the reunion I expected having… Should’ve chose me Teach.”

She flinched at his words, hearing the coldness and shallowness they carried. She gripped her sword tightly.

“Professor, we cannot just let him go,” Edelgard tried to reason with her. “Claude can’t be trusted.”

Sarina doesn’t answer her, let alone look at her. She approaches in front of Claude, her lips pressed tightly together. “Surrender Claude. Leave,” she tells him.

His eyes widened in shocked at her words. He doesn’t say anything but keep his gaze onto hers, their eyes locked with another in the same pained expression they shared five years ago. He releases the grip of Failnaught and slowly raises his hands above his head. “I surrender.”

Edelgard’s eyes widened slightly before schooling her expression back into place, raising her weapon cautiously. She motions him to stand and he slowly does so.

Sarina looks him over, seeing the changes in him, but only for a short moment. He was taller. More built. He didn’t have his braid anymore. She could see the hardened expression in his eyes compared to five years ago. “I got this…” she says to Edelgard as she approaches in front of him. She feels the cautious look on her and finally turns her head to give a hard look of her own. “Go.”

Slowly, Edelgard retracts her weapon and slowly walks away, looking back to the two of them before proceeding to announce their victory over the Leicester Alliance. While she does, Sarina says nothing as she stares hard at Claude. “You never answered my question, you know,” he finally breaks the silence.

She furrows her eyebrows together, trying to understand his question.

“Why, Teach? Why go to this far?”

She opens her mouth. She wanted to tell him, however, she could feel invisible eyes watching her, knowing it wasn’t safe. She digs her nails into her palms, threatening to break the skin. “I’m sorry,” she could only say to him. She proceeds to kick Failnaught out of reach. “Get Hilda and leave,” she says to him when she approaches.

It was his turn to look confused. “What?”

She takes the advantage to tell him in a low voice, “She’s alive. But she needs a healer. Get her and get out of here. Get as far as away from Fodlan as possible.”

“Teach… Sarina.”

She stiffened when she heard her name for the first time from him. She gives him a hard look and swallows, as if trying to get air back in her lungs. “Go.”

Claude gives her one last look, an unreadable expression before slowly walking towards Hilda who remained on the ground. The imperial soldiers raised their weapons but Sarina was quick to stop him. “Let him pass… No one is to harm him. Let him get her body… he wants to give her a proper burial when he leaves.”

The soldiers briefly looked to one another, but kept their weapons raised as a precaution as Claude scooped up Hilda’s body and sure enough, he sees she was still alive and was able to release breaths that she had been holding. He glanced to Sarina, surprised but he proceeds to walk back, where his injured wyvern was. He was sure his companion could make it at least get them as far to a nearby village for healing.

“Claude,” she calls for him one last time. He looks back and Sarina was already in front of him. She places something in Hilda’s hands, for her to hold for him. When he looks down, his eyes widened at what it was. Her hairclip. When he looks up to, she gives him a soft, pained look.

“I’m sorry.”

* * *

The war was over. When Sarina woke up, she was told the war was finally over. She felt painful thumps in her chest where her heart was. It wasn’t long until she found out her hair and her eyes had turned back to their original color and that thump in her chest was her heart. She placed her hand over her chest, feeling her heartbeat for the first time. Her eyes began to overflow with tears, not out of happiness, but of overwhelming sadness and pain this war had caused. They had won the war, but was it worth it?

Those Who Slither in the Dark was handled by Hubert and the loyal Imperial followers of Edelgard, who immediately began to reform the system as part of the plan to unify Fodlan. Sarina couldn’t be part of this reformation she wanted. She only left behind a note, leaving without a trace and a goodbye. She couldn’t face Edelgard and while she will always see her as a student she had taught, she couldn’t agree with her ideals and the path she chose.

Days, weeks, and months following her departure, there were reports of a prowling wolf at night, howling at each full moon that appeared in the night sky.

Sarina returned to the monastery one last time. She walked through the old areas, reminiscing of the past, and longed for those days again. She wondered if Edelgard felt the same and pushed those aside for her goals. She made one last stop to the gazebo. She activated the mechanism and once again, she found herself in the Holy Tomb. In a way, it was where it all began. She approached the throne, fingers tracing the stoned armrest. She felt her eyes watered as she took a seat in it. “Sothis… I wish you were here,” she whispered, closing her eyes as a tear slipped down her cheek.

“But I am here.”

Eyes widening at the voice, she lifted her head and before her, was the young child appearance of the Goddess before her. “I was never truly gone. It is as I told you, our souls have become one, even without the crest stone that no longer resides in your heart.”

She places her hand over her chest, feeling the beat of her heart. “Sothis… I…”

Sothis raises her hand and quietly shushes in a motherly tone. “You have suffer much… Do you wish for a second chance?”

Her eyebrows furrowed together. “Second… chance? I don’t… understand.”

Sothis became quiet as she looked in the distance of the Holy Tomb. “I believe we are capable of a miracle. A miracle that can only happen once with the power of the Goddess.” She turns her head back to Sarina. “We could give the little ones that were lost a second chance.”

Sarina’s mouth gaped open at her word. Could it truly be possible? She clenched her fists tightly. They could go back. To save everyone, to prevent the tragedies, maybe to prevent Edelgard’s war. Her father’s death. Her eyes became blurry with tears and she quickly wiped them away. “We need to prepare first,” she soon whispered.

Sothis’s expression softens as she nods. “Yes, take as much time as you need. I’m… afraid I still cannot talk to you like before, but…” she floats over beside Sarina, taking a careful seat next to her on the throne before resting her head on top of the armrest. “Please come back to visit soon,” she says, her voice drawling out as if she was about to slumber.

Sarina nods her head silently. “I will… I just need to make a visit… I’ll come back soon.”

Sothis only nods her head as she closes her eyes, drifting off to a sleep like she had many years ago.

* * *

Claude sighs tiredly as he rubs his eyes. If he had to listen to another dispute, he’s going to lose it. Thankfully, Hilda and Marianne made things bearable in their time here. He wasn’t sure what he would do without them. It was dark as he roams the hall of the palace, feeling the cool breeze pass through. Almyra was an unforgiveable hot place in the day, but in the nights, the cold can be just as harsh. As he approached his chambers, he feels something was wrong. He stops just before he enters and carefully arms himself with a hidden dagger that he keeps on himself. An assassination attempt? Those never gets old. If he wasn’t trying to be stealthy, he would’ve snort. Carefully, he entered his bedroom, stepping inside as quietly as possible and scanned the immediate area. His eyes widened upon what he saw.

His verdant green eyes met with familiar aquamarine eyes, eyes with a shimmering gold ring around the pupils. He… has seen those eyes before. In front of a large painting that hung up at the wall was a creature—a wolf. A silver furred wolf, beautiful compared to the demonic beast wolves that he used to face years ago. And thankfully, not as large as them. He knew he should’ve kept his guard up, but he didn’t—couldn’t. A sense of familiarity washed over him as he watched the creature, not daring to move from where he stood if she decided to attack—wait she? How would he know the gender?

His body stiffens when he sees movement from the creature. The silver wolf half turned its—her—body towards him but making no attempts to walk towards him. Slowly, his room was lit by the moonlight that seeped in as the cloud passed from the full moon outside. As it illuminated his room and shone on the wolf, he watched as the creature change forms. Hind legs turning into long slender legs with pale skin, the front legs turning into two familiar toned arms that he had seen before with the same pale skin, and the wolf face turned into a face of a woman he thought he would never see again. Teach.

Sarina slowly rose to her feet, her hair falling past her shoulders as she brushed her bangs from her face. She wore a familiar tight skin crop top with that open display at her chest and her black shorts that hugged the curve of hips. She was barefooted with tights that she would wear to cover her long legs.

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words to come out. All but one: “Teach.”

She took a step towards him and he made no efforts to move himself. Before he knew it, he was staring down at her, eyes locked with one another. Was she always this small? He closed his mouth and swallowed. Finding the nerve to speak again, he opened them again, but she had beat him to the punch with an unexpected request.

“Dance with me?”

He was speechless once again. Even after all this time, she still manages to surprise him at every turn. He schooled his expression into an easy-going smirk as he said, “What? No hi, hello, or even, how are you? Teach, is that how you greet me after all this time?”

She didn’t say anything. She pressed her lips together and he could tell she was forcing herself to keep her gaze on him. It unnerved him. It felt like she was seeing right through him, as if he was an open book himself, despite the fact he had often prided himself being unreadable and not allowing anyone to see what really went through his mind. But she always did. He glanced when he sees a shift in movement and it was her hand, outstretched to him.

Unsure of what possessed him, he took her hand. Carefully, he sheathed his dagger back on his person as he led her to the middle of his chambers. They stood in the middle, the moonlight shining over them, similar of how they were back in the Goddess Tower. He raised her hand to the side, gently wrapping his hand over it while the other rested on her hip. She squeezed his hand gently as she slid her hand over his shoulder, broader and firmer than she remembered it to be. She had to crane her neck back now to look up at him. They stood like that for several moments and then he took the first step. He stepped back, her foot replacing his position right after. Each step he took, she followed. Unlike their first time, they kept their eyes on one another. She didn’t need to look down to watch their feet.

For just a brief moment, it felt like they were both transported back to the past, back in the reception hall where it was filled with music and their classmates and faculty enjoying themselves. Just for a moment. He gently took her hand and led her into a twirl away from him, only to bring her back. He found his arm wrapped her waist, pulling her body up against his while holding her hand close to his face. Sarina felt breathless as their chests pressed together, their faces inches away from each other now when he leaned down to her, but smoothly continued their waltz in his room.

Slowly, they fell into a simple sway, forgoing the complexity of noble dancing to something that was simple and intimate. Their hands stayed together, going from a simple grasp to fingers interlacing with one another. He leaned down to rest his forehead against her, eyes briefly closed as they simply indulged in the presence of the other. It was as if a war never happened at all. It was as if she never disappeared for five years. It was as if nothing had happened.

“Claude,” she whispers his name.

He makes a noncommittal noise in response.

“I…” she trails off, unsure of what to say. He opens his eyes to look at her. Instead of a quip or a comment, he waits patiently, attempting to read her expressions that he used to pride himself into being able to decipher. After a moment, she swallows. “Remember when you ask me why I chose the Black Eagles?” she asked instead.

His eyebrows furrowed together but he slowly nods his head in response. “Yes… what about it?”

“What if… what if I could go back?” she asks him as she closes her eyes, keeping her forehead pressed up against his, squeezing his hand. “What if I chose you?”

His breath hitches in his throat. If she chose _him_ , he heard. Not his house, but him. He wasn’t sure where she was going with this, or why she was here, or even how she got here, but he knew she wouldn’t just ask any random question. He thought about his youth, of his old thoughts of her before finally settling on a response, “I would be happy.”

A small teasing smile flickers across her lips. “Happy to be able to use me?” she asks.

He almost sputters at the words she said, but she keeps smiling.

“You’re not as subtle as you think von Riegan,” she murmurs to him as they swayed together. She gently rests her head on his shoulder. 

A sigh leaves his lips. “Teach…” He swallows. “Why are you here?”

She doesn’t answer right away.

He frowns and moves to pull away, but her hand leaves his, so her arms could wrap tightly around his waist. “Do you think we would have been able to stop this war?” she asks instead.

“I…” If she had been on his side, it could have been possible. She could have made all of his schemes work. They could have avoided much bloodshed in his opinion. Their friends wouldn’t have died needlessly. He knew he should pull away and yet… he keeps his arms firm around her body and holds her close to him, resting his chin on top of her head. “Yes,” he could only say. He knows there’s no absolutes in the world, but with her, he felt like he could admit that.

With his answer, her grip over him loosens. She keeps her arms lazily around him as she closes her eyes, nuzzling her face into the soft fabric of his tunic. “I’ll make sure things will be different,” she whispers to him.

Claude didn’t understand what she was talking about and had a million questions he wanted to ask her. In fact, he should have been angry the moment he saw her, and yet it all became lost on him when he did. He held back his tongue simply as he held her.

At some point, they stopped swaying and simply held each other embrace. It could have been hours since they stayed like that, when really it was only minutes. When she forced herself to pull away, missing his warmth instantly, she looked up to him. “I have to go,” she whispers.

He grabs her hand tightly, desperately wanting to hold onto her. “Don’t.” Don’t go, he wanted to say.

A sad smile came to her face as she lifts her free hand to his cheek, gently stroking it with her thumb. She trailed her fingers to his beard that he grew out, giving a light scratch to it. She could stay, she wanted to. However, if she had a chance to give him—everyone—a better future than this, she would risk everything for that. “We’ll see each other,” she says to him, resolute in those words. “I promise.”

He didn’t know how he could trust in those words, but he did. He believed her. Slowly, and painfully, he loosened his grip over hand, feeling her fingers sliding out from his grasp. He hangs onto her fingers with his at the last moment. “Save me a dance then when you see me?” he asks, lifting her hand up to his lips.

He watches as a faint blush colors her cheeks, but a smile remaining on her lips. “I will.” Slowly, she takes her hand back and steps away from him, their eyes staying on one another.

“Wait,” he calls for her. She tilts her head slightly to the side as he proceeds to walk to a desk that laid in his room. Opening a drawer, he picks something out and keeps it out of sight. He quickly glanced back to see her still there. “Come here.” She obliges and walks over before being turned around gently. It reminds her of when they were at the dock. She closes her eyes, feeling his fingers carding through her hair like many years before. She feels a section of her hair being braided and pulled back and then a soft click of two jaws clamping together. When she opens her eyes, she carefully reaches up, feeling the cool metal of a hairclip. She turns around and looks to him, seeing a soft smile on his face. “There…”

Sarina feels her throat go dry. “Thank you,” she whispers. When the room darkens as a cloud passes over the moon, he could barely make out her figure before it’s replaced with one of a wolf’s. When the moonlight was allowed into the room again, he sees her silver wolf form. They gave one last gaze before he watches her walk away towards the balcony.

She left; the smell of lavender left behind from her presence. Once she was gone, it was like she took all of his strength with her as he slowly fell to the floor, his back hitting against his desk. He let out a pained laugh as he runs his fingers through his hair.

He hopes that whatever she was going to do, he could have one more dance with her.


End file.
